East baltimore revitalization project

[Pages:50]east baltimore revitalization project

FINAL REPORT | DECEMBER 2017 SOUTHERN BAPTIST CHURCH | AYERS SAINT GROSS

Contents

Foreword p.1 Introduction p.3 A Brief Planning History p.5 Project Background p.8 Existing Conditions p.12 Planning Process / Engagement p.23

Community Engagement p.24 Vision Statement and Themes p.28 Precedents p.29 Master Plan p.32 Green Network and Key Corridors p.32 Larger Planning Area Recommendations p.35 Study Area Recommendations p.38 Conclusion p.46

Cover Photo: Lanvale Street, photo by Evan Woodard at Top S3cr3t Photography

EAST BALTIMORE REVITALIZATION PROJECT 1

Foreword by Reverend Dr. Donte L. Hickman

It has been nearly 50 years since the riots of 1968 riveted and ravished the inner city Black communities of America. African-Americans were dealt a tumultuous blow at the assassination of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Dr. King was an educated, prolific and spirit-filled Black Baptist Minister who passionately trumpeted the call for justice and equality for African-Americans who had endured oppression, segregation and "Jim Crow" laws. With the community's vote of confidence and unwavering support, his vision and voice propelled a disenfranchised people to be able to engage in the full democracy and citizenship of America, while simultaneously restoring hope and pride in what we as an integrated human community could achieve.

Now nearly 50 years later many African-American urban communities are a reflection of despair, depravity and dilapidation. And to make matters worse, the industrial jobs that enabled many families to participate in the middle class have dissipated. The coping mechanisms of substance abuse, alcoholism, and gangs as well as single parented homes, food deserts and blight with little to no access to amenities and subsidies have replaced once thriving communities. Because of severe depopulation, schools and quality educational and recreational facilities have almost disappeared. And without a substantial tax base the local government has scarce resources to invest in and plan for distressed communities. Nevertheless, in the midst of the blight and the hopelessness the faith based anchor of the Black community known as the Church remained. And I contend that if these urban communities of enculturated poverty will be restored, the churches that remained have to rediscover, redefine and reignite their mission for justice and equality and include community development.

Historically, the church has always been the hub, the meeting place and the center of trust for the AfricanAmerican community. The church has served as a bulwark and transformational agent empowered by the people to herald their hopes and dreams for freedom, justice and equality. And today, in the midst of communities of seemingly hopelessness in East Baltimore five Pastors and their churches have come together to lead in the development of a Master Plan known as the East Baltimore Revitalization Project to restore people as we rebuild properties in an underserved, underestimated and underfunded 1000 acre footprint of East Baltimore. And we believe that this model of collaboration led by the faith-based community in partnership with the business, health, education, and public safety communities and local and state municipalities can be a formidable model for community revitalization and transformation in urban centers across America. For the Bible says, "Where there is no vision the people perish." So this document provides a clear and cohesive vision, analysis and guide towards re-creating health in impoverished urban communities. What was once mistakenly dubbed, "A Neighborhood Without Hope", but more accurately "A Neighborhood Without Help" can finally, through this document, be seen as one of the greatest hidden treasures of our city and propel our city and all of its citizens even beyond its former greatness.

- Reverend Dr. Donte L. Hickman

"I believe entrenched poverty has deteriorating effects on the psyche and pathos of people across cultural and generational lines. And I contend that any efforts at community revitalization will fail if there is not also careful consideration to restore, retool, recruit, and reinvest in the human capital of inner city residents ? not just an area's brick and mortar."

REVEREND DR. DONTE L HICKMAN "THE ROLE OF POVERTY IN THE BLACK COMMUNITY," BALTIMORE SUN, MARCH 11, 2016

Introduction EAST BALTIMORE REVITALIZATION PROJECT 3

introduction

Baltimore has a tortured history of poverty, racial discrimination, crime, and abandonment. Some of the most forgotten neighborhoods have been overrun by these issues, namely large parts of East Baltimore. While many residents fled these parts of the city over the past few decades, a number of lifelong citizens and institutions remain, anchoring the neighborhood with hope and memories of past vibrant economies. In order for these neighborhoods to flourish once again, people must move back, amenities must be restored, and opportunities must be created to not only rebuild the neighborhood, but also restore the people. To help spur this positive growth, the neighborhood needs a bold vision and plan for what it can become.

The East Baltimore Revitalization Plan presents big ideas for better connecting and building on assets in East Baltimore and recommends strategic infill in Broadway East to provide opportunities for people of all walks of life. By focusing new development along corridors that have the highest vacancy rates, this plan not only supports existing residents staying in the neighborhood, but also builds an economy in the neighborhood for vacant properties to become renovated into homes again.

Johns Hopkins University

Penn Station

Mount Vernon

Downtown

Greenmount Cemetery

Ark Church

Old Town Mall

Morgan State University

Lake Montebello

Clifton Park

Sinclair Ln

Southern Baptist

United Baptist

Israel Baptist

EBDI

Johns Hopkins Medical Campus

Baltimore Cemetery Greater Gethsemane

Orleans St

Lakewood Ave Ensor St

Patterson Park

4 EAST BALTIMORE REVITALIZATION PROJECT Introduction

1. N Collington Ave. and American Brewery circa 1940, Kniesche Collection, Maryland Historical Society

2. N Collington Ave. and American Brewery, 2017, photo by Evan Woodard at Top S3cr3t Photography

3. G oetze's Meats Plant on Sinclair Ln, circa 1940, Baltimore Gas and Electric Collection at the Baltimore Museum of Industry

4. Goetze's Meats Plant on Sinclair Ln, 2016, Google Maps 5. Lafayette Courts circa 1967, photo by Richard Stacks, Baltimore Sun

"It's depressing," said Leslie Funderburk, one mother who lives in the neighborhood. "How can you expect someone to have a positive outlook on life, when all they see is destruction?"

"A NEIGHBORHOOD ABANDONED" ? BALTIMORE SUN 2006

EAST BALTIMORE REVITALIZATION PROJECT 5

a brief planning history

"It used to be a village, and now the village is gone."

? TONI ROBINSON, COMMUNITY MEMBER

The industrial era of Baltimore was a thriving time. The city experienced rapid population growth with both domestic and foreign immigrants moving to Baltimore in the hopes of securing a well-paying industrial job. This growth shaped Baltimore into the city we know it as today. Streets lined with rowhouses were what many factory workers called home. Nearly a million people lived in the city by 1950 and factories such as Bethlehem Steel were major employers for those living in Baltimore.

Subtle economic changes began in the 1960s as industry started to decline. Between 1950 and 2000, Baltimore lost over 100,000 manufacturing jobs. Combined with the loss in jobs came the 1968 riots following the Assassination of Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. In Baltimore, the riots left six people dead, over 700 injured, and hundreds of small businesses burned, never to return.

With the loss of jobs and riots came a drop in population. By 2000, Baltimore had lost over one third of its population. People who could afford to leave the city moved to the county. Poverty became more concentrated in the city and abandonment and disinvestment in once vibrant neighborhoods spread.

Unfortunately, over the past century Baltimore struggled with much more than population loss. As the first city to adopt a racial zoning code in 1911 that was later deemed unconstitutional, Baltimore's history of segregation and racism

is rife. For decades, housing policy and mortgage lending across the United States promoted segregation and inequality. Redlining and blockbusting occurred throughout Baltimore, further segregating neighborhoods and promoting disinvestment in non-white neighborhoods.

In the 1950s and 1960s, Baltimore embarked on an aggressive urban renewal program that displaced more than 25,000 people, close to 90 percent of them African-American. Concentrating residents in high-rise public housing, combined with the decline in jobs across the city and flight of the upper class, these high-rises became magnets for crime and drugs.

Fortunately, many of the high rises across Baltimore were demolished beginning in the 1990s. However, the crime infesting them was not and instead, spilled into the streets of the city. Violent crime and drug trade gravitated towards abandoned neighborhoods with high vacancy and poverty rates further deteriorating these fragile neighborhoods.

Despite all of the hardships, many remember what East Baltimore once was; a vibrant neighborhood with jobs, amenities, services, opportunities, housing, and more. There are many existing residents and anchor institutions that retain hope for the future.

6 EAST BALTIMORE REVITALIZATION PROJECT

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